Sept. 11 memorial way to fund park development

April 28, 2011Genoa City —- Numbing.
That's how Village Park Commissioner Cheri Borowiec described the effect of Sept. 11, 2001.
That morning, she was in the Home Plate, a former village restaurant, when the village clerk at that time came in and told her an airplane flew into one of the World Trade Center towers. She said she went home immediately, turned on the news and watched a second airplane crash into the other tower.

Officials pose questions to voters about sirens, mosquito spraying

January 20, 2011Genoa City — This spring, voters will have more to decide than who occupies what office.
Two referendum questions will appear on the April 5 ballot. The answers to those questions may determine whether the village of Genoa City continues mosquito spraying and using its emergency sirens.
The referenda came up Thursday, Jan. 13, during the regular Village Board meeting. Village Clerk Mary Buchert read the questions as they will appear on the ballot.

Recent Bloomfield, Genoa City, Pell Lake

Genoa City to go to bid to get radium out of the waterApril 21, 2011Genoa City — The village wants to be proactive in reducing the amount of radium in its drinking water.The village board on Thursday voted to go out for bids on a modification that will allow the village’s water treatment plant to remove most of the radium from the water.State and federal regulations allow only 5 picocuries per liter, about five parts per billion, radium in municipal water, said Todd Schilling, village public works superintendent.

Despite election, candidates will stay friendsNo mud slung along the village president campaign trailApril 14, 2011Genoa City — There are the kind of political races where, if the opposing candidates met at the polls on Election Day, it could feel like watching two gunslingers meet at high noon just seconds before a showdown.But John Wrzeszcz, 68, and Barry Goad, 47, the two who ran for village president April 5 in Genoa City, said they have been friends a long time.And it appears their friendship will endure Wrzeszcz’s victory over Goad, the incumbent, 257-167.

Department wants to borrow for fire, rescue vehiclesMarch 24, 2011Genoa City — Bloomfield-Genoa City Fire and Rescue is having a hard time buying equipment on a pay-as-you-go plan.Firefighter Tim Steinmetz approached the Genoa City Village Board on Thursday (March 10) with a plan to allow the fire department to borrow money to buy needed equipment.The fire department’s board has already approved the plan, but it would also require approval by the Bloomfield Town Board.

Bomb threat plays role in latest bank robberyMarch 17, 2011Bloomfield — A bank robbery involving a bomb threat and a house fire continue to be investigated by local authorities.The Pell Lake branch of First Michigan Bank, formerly First Banking Center, N1264 Park Road, was robbed for the third time in less than a year Saturday at about 8:20 a.m.Town of Bloomfield police, the FBI and the Walworth County Sheriff’s Department still are investigating the robbery.

BREAKING - Firefighters battle Pell Lake blazeMarch 10, 2011A morning blaze at a residence on Veronica Road in Pell Lake attracted fire departments from several areas. The fire was called in by the neighbor just after 9 a.m. The house was vacant and recently for sale. Further details about the fire are unknown at this time. See more information and photos from the fire in next week's Regional News. See the website soon for video on the fire.

New shelves, new paint, new fears?March 10, 2011Genoa City — The three women operating the village’s Public Library are in another state of transition. They seem to be in high spirits, finishing each other’s sentences when discussing the commotion that’s taking place.They’re in the process of reorganizing the library.They’re adding shelves, painting the walls and moving around various sections which together comprise 21,000 books, periodicals, audiobooks, movies and compact discs.

Caught behind the 8-ballSeven Traver teachers may lose their jobsMarch 03, 2011Linn — The state budget turmoil has hit close to home for seven Traver School teachers.At a special meeting Monday morning, the School Board decided to send nonrenewal notices out to warn those teachers there’s a possibility their contracts won’t be renewed for the 2011-12 school year.During a telephone interview Tuesday morning, Traver Administrator Mary DeYoung described the board’s action to issue them with notices of nonrenewal as an effort to “cover all bases.”

Alleged bank robbers face more feloniesFebruary 24, 2011Elkhorn — Two people charged in connection with the Aug. 31 armed robbery of the Pell Lake First Banking Center face more criminal charges.Shelby L. Kaelber, 21, and David C. Allen II, 23, both of Kenosha, have been charged with felony bail jumping. If convicted of that count, they each face up to six years imprisonment and $10,000 in fines.In 2010, Kaelber and Allen both were charged with armed robbery as a party to a crime. That charge is still pending, but if they are convicted they face up to 40 years imprisonment and $100,000 in fines.

A minor victory for Bloomfield’s incorporation effortJudge rejects Lake Geneva, Genoa City’s motionsFebruary 17, 2011Bloomfield — On Monday, Town Chairman Ken Monroe smiled when asked if he was surprised by the outcome of the Thursday, Feb. 10, Walworth County Circuit Court hearing about his community’s petition to turn a 16-square-mile region into a village. At the hearing, Judge John Race denied motions by the city of Lake Geneva and the village of Genoa City to intervene in the town’s request. Now, Race is expected to sign an order to that effect by the end of the month and Bloomfield’s request would advance to the state Department of Administration.

Genoa City police battle blizzardFebruary 10, 2011Genoa City — For most people, the world shuts down on a snow day. A brief but mandatory vacation, once worries of digging yourself out have been laid to rest. But during the Groundhog Day blizzard, police officers didn’t have the luxury of downtime. In Genoa City, where estimates have the snowfall total from the storm at about 20 inches, officers helped stranded motorists and helped people clear snow.A lifetime Genoa City resident, Village Police Chief Ralph “Homer” Bauman said some drifts were about 5 feet deep. He estimated in other areas, spots were between 14 and 16 inches deep. “It was a lot of snow and I don’t even know how you’d get a measurement on it because of the wind,” Bauman said.But was it the worst snow storm ever? Depends on who you ask. “In all honesty, this reminds me of how winter was when I was a kid,” Bauman said. In e-mails Saturday, Feb. 5, Police Sgt. Mike Sireno said the storm also jogged his memory. “(It’s the) worst I remember since the 1979 storm when I was picked up for work on a snowmobile and spent three days sleeping in the fire station because the roads were closed,” Sireno stated.